DuPage County, Ill.

A Small District Model

Given the limited resources to implement SEL, the leadership of the DuPage County, Ill., Regional Office of Education (ROE) leveraged its existing partnership with CASEL, funded through a grant from NoVo Foundation, to collaborate on a model to build district capacity and sustain SEL in smaller school districts across the county. These 42 public school districts are not large enough to afford the economies of scale available to larger districts. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, this is a common challenge—87.2% of American districts serve student populations of 5,000 or less.

This multiyear initiative is grounded in CASEL’s emphasis on the creation of systemic changes leading to effective, sustainable, long-term implementation of SEL. The process involves engagement and planning in Year 1, embedding SEL within practice and culture in Year 2, choosing and implementing an evidence-based SEL program in Year 3, and focusing on scaling and sustainability in Year 4 and beyond. CASEL and the DuPage ROE leadership provide professional development and guidance as the model progresses, with targeted support based on needs assessments, observations, and feedback.

The work has unfolded gradually across seven cohorts of schools:

Summary of School District Partnerships (Data 2016-17)

Year

School DistrictSuperintendentSEL Contact(s)

Total number of Schools

Total Number of Students

Total Number of Certified Staff

2010-11Cohort 1

West Chicago District 33

8

4242

319

Downers Grove District 58

13

5191

279

Lisle District 202

4

1560

115

Totals

25

10,993

713

2011-12Cohort 2

Medinah District 11

3

663

58

Villa Park District 45

8

3329

298

Hinsdale HS District 86

2

4552

380

Totals

13

8,544

731

2012-13Cohort 3

Keeneyville District 20

3

1,512

106

Queen Bee District 16

4

1,915

117

Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200

19

13,112

858

Totals

27

16,539

1,076

2013-14Cohort 4

Center Cass District 66

3

996

72

Community Consolidated District 89

5

2011

137

Naperville District 203

21

16,917

1113

Totals

30

19,924

1,250

2014-15Cohort 5

Community Consolidated District 93

9

3,834

291

NDSEC*

2*

2,003

130

Totals

11 *

5,837

421

2015-16Cohort 6

Wood Dale District 7

4

1204

82

Lombard District 44

7

3184

213

Totals

11

4,388

295

2016-17Cohort 7

Benesenville District 2

3

2151

164

Totals

16 and a special ed coop

118*

68,376

4,550

*Northern DuPage Special Education Cooperative serves 9 school districts (2,4,7,10,11,12,13,100, 108 with a total enrollment of @15,000 students)

The Wheaton/Warrenville School District produced a video that offers an overview of SEL and the districtwide approach to implementation. The video was designed to be viewed by all district staff. The district’s work to create a model that is financially sustainable is featured here.

Jeff Schuler

Wheaton-Warrenville,
District 200

Superintendent

Being Life Ready

Hinsdale identifies what kids need to succeed in order to be academically ready and life ready with this infographic on SEL and growth mindsets.

SEL in DuPage

Check out DuPage Regional Office of Education’s new partnership website on SEL.